Martian Mayhem
by justformusic
Summary: Marvin and Lilly are off to recapture the slippery Dr. Woe, who has escaped again. Meg is called in to help and, along with her little sister Miranda, joins the chase. But something doesn't seem right about the whole situation...
1. A New Tune and a New Mission

**Taking a break from my Martian stories...to write _another_ Martian story! Wow, three in a row! Well this one is (hopefully) more exciting, because we have another Martian OC popping up: Lilly, who was created by Nightmarebeforechristmasfreak! She's an awesome character! Hope you guys (especially Nightmarebeforechristmasfreak) enjoy this new story:**

"Pleeeaaase, Marvin?" Lilly followed close behind her friend as they made their way down one of the ship's many corridors, hands clasped eagerly in front of her, "I promise it'll be fun!" Marvin screeched to a halt, turned and gave her a wary look.

"Lilly, I have known you long enough to notice that your idea of 'fun' usually does not coincide with mine."

"But this time I'm _sure_ you'll have fun." Lilly's eyes grew impossibly large and pleading, "Please?"

"Lilly, oh no, don't, not the eyes!"

Lilly continued to look imploringly at him.

"Lilly, that's not _fair_!"

She remained unmoved by his entreaties that became increasingly more and more desperate. She shuffled closer, giving it her best shot. Marvin's eye twitched slightly and he leaned farther back, trying to avoid her gaze, before he finally sighed in defeat,

"Oh…alright." As a Martian Commander, there were few things he could not handle. That look that Lilly could muster up was one of them. Lilly immediately brightened and flung her arms around him,

"Aww, Marvin, you're the best! Common, I'll show you!" She tugged on his arm and practically dragged him back up the corridor to the room housing their beloved piano. Before Marvin could get a word in edgewise, Lilly hurried over a music stand set near the piano, grabbed a notebook off of it and turned back to him. Marvin watched her, his curiosity getting the better of him. As she flipped through the pages of her notebook she explained,

"You know, Marv, I've been thinking-"

"Always a dangerous prospect." He cut in dryly, but immediately shut up when he saw the glare Lilly shot his way.

"_Anyways_, like I was _saying_, I've been thinking and you know what I noticed? The only music you ever play on this ship is Martian music. We need some variety, Marv, something new, exciting, different! We need," She found the page she was looking for and exclaimed triumphantly,

"Earth music!"

"What's wrong with Martian music? I thought you said you found it quite enjoyable." Marvin said indignantly. Lilly rolled her eyes,

"I do like Martian music, Marvin, a lot. But after listening to it all the time, well…it gets pretty old pretty fast. "

"And where exactly do you propose we find Earth music? If you think I'm about to alter course just to pick up some new tunes for you, think again. I do have Commander duties to attend to, you know!" Lilly brushed away his concerns flippantly, a smile still on her face.

"We don't need to go anywhere, Marv, that's the point!" Marvin suddenly felt uneasy for some odd reason. _Where is she going with this…?_

"What exactly do you mean?" Her grin grew wider and she handed him a few sheets of paper from her notebook.

"_We're_ going to record the music! Right here, right now! Doesn't that sound like fun?" Marvin's eyes widened as he glanced at the papers she had given him. _Angel of Music?_ He scanned the first few lines, brow wrinkling in distaste. _What kind of nonsense is this?_ After a moment he said incredulously,

"You prefer this – this cacophony over Martian music?" Lilly's expression hardened and she retorted hotly,

"This isn't cacophony, Marvin, this is art!"

"Well as long as you find it enjoyable, I suppose there is no harm in recording it yourself."

"Marvin…this is a _duet_." She gave him a meaningful look. Marvin froze,

"Oh, no. No. Noooo. Nononono. No. No. NO!" He said firmly, as Lilly inched towards him, the pleading look returning to her face. Involuntarily, he found himself backing up away from her.

"Lilly…"

"Marvin, I can't do it without you! You have to do it!"

"No, I have no such obligations to do any such thing!" He said angrily.

"But, Marvin –"

"No, Lilly!"

"It's just this one –"

"I said no and that is final!"

Lilly suddenly stopped, drooping slightly. She looked up at her friend and said softly,

"But it won't be fun without you…"

Oh, no! This was worse than the look! He avoided her eyes and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, until eventually he looked up and met her hopeful gaze. He sighed and looked down for a moment, debating on how much he was willing to humiliate himself for her sake. Finally he snatched the music out of her hand and marched over to the piano. He sat down and muttered,

"So how do we begin?"

"You mean…you'll do it?" Lilly's eyes sparkled happily when she saw Marvin nod, albeit a bit ruefully. She launched herself at him and gave him the biggest hug she could muster, saying all the while,

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She sat beside him on the piano bench and gave him one last hug, just for good measure. Marvin smiled at her and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Alright, alright, yes you're welcome. But there is one condition."

"Anything!"

"I will sing this with you if, and only if, you promise never to show this to anyone, understand? I do have a reputation to uphold!" Lilly grinned and answered,

"Deal!"

--

"Wait, are you expecting me to _actually_ hit that note, Lilly?"

"It's not that high, Marvin!" She played a note on the piano and turned back to him, "See?" Marvin still didn't seem too convinced. She rolled her eyes at him,

"Ok, let's just try it from the very top. You have to start."

"Must I?" Marvin looked incredibly nervous, "Isn't there a version where you can start?"

"Well there is the duet between Meg and Christine, Marvin, but unless you plan on singing soprano I'm guessing that one's out. Just try it!" She urged him. He gulped and took a breath –

"Commander!"

X-25's sudden appearance caused both Lilly and Marvin to jump. Marvin whirled around to face the large screen coming out of the ceiling, an annoyed look on his face,

"Really, X-25, you can't just surprise unsuspecting Martians like that!"

"Apologies, Commander, but an urgent message has just come in from the Queen." Marvin immediately straightened,

"I will be at the bridge shortly." Concern crossed his face as he pondered this latest development. _An urgent message?_ He returned his attention to Lilly and handed her back the music,

"We'll continue this later, alright?" She nodded silently and together they quickly headed towards the bridge. When they arrived, X-25 had already gotten the Queen up on the screen. Marvin stepped forward, bowing.

"Your Majesty."

"We must dispense with the pleasantries, Commander, for there is little time."

"Of course, Your Majesty. What seems to be the problem?"

"Dr. Woe is our problem, Commander." The Queen's expression darkened, "I am afraid he has managed to escape yet again from our prisons. He is clearly much more cunning and ingenious than we had previously thought." Marvin started, looking surprised,

"He escaped _again_?" He paused, "Hmm…we really need to come up with a better way for containing this one…" The Queen shook her head firmly.

"No, he is far too powerful. His mind is too great for us to fight against…we must destroy him once and for all." Lilly watched the conversation, a strange feeling nagging at the back of her mind. Something felt so…wrong, but she couldn't figure out why. She stepped a little closer to the screen, listening carefully. The Queen's eyes flickered over her momentarily, showing no signs of recognition.

"Commander, we have detected Dr. Woe's latest hide-out. I am having its coordinates transferred to your ship as we speak."

"You know, for someone who can escape from Mars' highest security prisons, he's sure bad at finding decent hide-outs." Lilly piped up. The Queen merely gave her a sideways glance then continued,

"We are counting on you, Commander. Do not let us down…do not let _me_ down." Marvin saluted sharply.

"Fear not, my Queen, I will return victorious." The Queen nodded then ended the transmission. Lilly stared at the blank screen then turned to her friend.

"Was it just me or did something feel really…odd?"

"What do you mean?" Marvin gave her a surprised glance, "I sensed nothing out of the ordinary."

"Oh…ok, I guess it was nothing then." She peeked over his shoulder to see the coordinates he was punching in, "Soooo, I guess we have to beat this guy…a third time?"

"It seems that way."

"Well, as we say on Earth, 'third time's the charm'!" She tried to smile and shrug off the unsettling feeling she had. Yet Lilly found that she still couldn't quite push the nagging feeling out of her mind.


	2. Taking a Bite Out of Crime

**Meg was bound to show up eventually! And this time her little sister is tagging along for the ride.**

"Meg…are you sure this is safe?" Miranda peeked out cautiously from behind the table, wearing thick lab goggles and an oversized pair of protective gloves. Meg, her own lab goggles pushed up on top of her head, bent over a large book but kept a wary eye on the device ticking on the counter. How much more time did they have? Still scanning the book, she answered her sister,

"Oh I'm sure it's perfectly safe."

"But it's going to go off any minute!"

"Earthlings have been doing this for generations and their civilization is still up and running, Miranda. And besides we are _Martians_; therefore I'm quite certain we can handle this." _I can handle this, I can handle this, I can handle this, _Meg thought to herself as the device continued to tick. Thirty seconds left.

"Meg…"

Fifteen seconds…

"Miranda, you might want to get back." Miranda ducked behind a chair, though making sure she still had a clear view of the action.

Five seconds…

Meg pulled her goggles down over her eyes and donned a pair of protective gloves, a determined look on her face. It was go time.

Three…

Two…

One…

_DING!_

Miranda covered her head as Meg lunged towards the oven, throwing it open. She deftly grabbed the pan baking inside, whirled around and somehow managed to shut the oven with her foot.

"Ohmyohmyohmyohmyohmy!" The pan was hotter than she had expected. She careened around the ship's small kitchen for a few seconds, until finally dropping it on the counter with a loud clatter. She flailed for a few seconds, trying to cool off her hands, while Miranda crept up from behind and inspected the pan's contents. She reached out for the book Meg had been reading earlier and examined the images inside, then glanced back at the pan. After a few more comparisons, she announced triumphantly to her sister,

"Well, at least it _looks_ like the pictures in the book." Meg pulled off her gloves angrily, tossing them aside,

"Waste of Imperial funding…" She looked over her sister's shoulder, "Oh, they do don't they? Well, that's rather encouraging!" Miranda looked at the pan's contents with wide-eyed curiosity.

"So, what're these called again?"

"I believe Mrs. Betty Crocker refers to them in her book as 'Chocolate-Chip Cookies'."

"And these are…edible?"

"That's my understanding." After she was satisfied that the cookies had cooled down enough, Meg pulled out a plate from the cabinet and transferred the cookies onto it. The two sisters sat looking at the plate for a few moments, then exchanged glances.

"Well, Miranda, aren't you going to try one?" Miranda looked skeptical.

"Me? Why do I always have to test everything?"

"Because you're the youngest."

"But what if I die?" Meg rolled her eyes at the over dramatic tone in her sister's voice.

"Trust me, you won't die." She pushed the plate towards her, "Go on, try one. I heard they're delicious." Miranda looked at the pile of cookies before her, tentatively selected one and inspected it closely. She sniffed it delicately and eyed it a second time before cautiously taking a small bite. She chewed slowly, eyes closed tightly as if she was expecting death at any moment. Suddenly she brightened and stuffed the rest of the cookie into her mouth, grinning at her sister.

"It's good!"

"Wonderful. So you're not going to die on me, then?" Meg laughed as she reached for a cookie herself. Miranda had already wolfed down her second cookie and was working on the third. She paused long enough to glance slyly at her sister and said casually,

"You know, I can't figure out which is more surprising: the fact that an Earthling recipe turned out good or the fact that something _you_ cooked actually turned out good!" Meg coughed on the cookie she had been eating and glared at her sister, looking thoroughly unamused.

"Nice one there, sis." Miranda reached for yet another cookie, "Hmm, you need to make these more often!" Meg smiled, a pleased look on her face when suddenly a red light pulsated on the counter, catching her attention. Her expression changed swiftly, changing into one of mild concern.

"Oh, it seems as though someone's trying to contact us." She remarked absently, immediately rushing out the door and making her way towards the bridge. Miranda finished the cookie she held and quickly followed after her sister. She hesitated in the doorway, looked back wistfully at the remaining cookies resting on the plate before she darted back, snatched another handful and ran out the door. She arrived at the bridge, munching away on her loot, only to find her sister already deep in conversation with the Martian Queen herself. Miranda shied away from the view screen when she saw the intent look on Meg's face, instead backing away slightly, careful to keep out of sight. Something must be wrong.

"Lieutenant, I understand this is an unconventional request and I realize that this was not necessarily part of the job description you were given. But I ask because I am sure you are competent enough."

"You flatter me undeservedly, Your Majesty." The Queen gave a flick of her wrist,

"No, actually it is quite deserved. You have no idea the kinds of things I have to put up with regarding these members of High Command – they are all such weak, ineffectual -"Meg could see where this rant was going.

"Uh…Your Majesty?"

"Oh, yes…back to the matter at hand. Well, the fact of the matter is that Dr. Woe has escaped…again."

Meg could hardly restrain her surprise,

"Again?" She blinked at the screen, "But didn't the Commander catch him, for the _second _time, a few months ago?"

"Yes, but then he escaped...he is apaprently much more deviously cunning and ingenious than we ever imagined"

"I see. Permit me for a moment, my Queen, but shouldn't we think of a better way of containing Dr. Woe?"

"We're working on that, alright? But before we can _contain_ him, we have to _find_ him." She gave Meg a firm look, "I have already sent the Commander out to locate Woe, but I want you there as back-up. Can you do it, Lieutenant?" Meg gave a jaunty salute,

"Of course, Your Highness."

"Good. We have transmitted the Commander's coordinates to your on-board computer, good luck." The Queen cut off transmission and in her wake the transmitted information appeared. Meg stood for a moment, studying the figures closely. After a moment she sighed, as Miranda ambled up next to her sister, munching on her last cookie,

"A new mission, sis?"

"It would appear so."

"…does this mean that I get to come along and watch? Please?"

"Well judging from the fact that we are currently millions of miles from Mars, yes, I suppose you'll have to tag along." She shot her sister a warning glance, "But this is a very serious matter, so I expect you to stay out of the way and promise not to get yourself into trouble." Miranda stuffed the remains of the cookie into her mouth, saluted and said with a full mouth,

"Eew cah cont ohn meh, Sthis."

"Somehow that doesn't sound all that convincing, you know." Meg couldn't hold back a grin and ruffled her sister's hair playfully, ignoring Miranda's indignant protest.


	3. Strange Circumstances

**Uh oh, seems like both teams have run into a little trouble...**

"Marvin, are we there yet?"

"No, Lilly."

A pause.

"How about now?"

"No, Lilly."

An exasperated sigh.

A longer pause.

"We _have_ to be there by now!"

"Not yet, Lilly!"

"How long is this going to take?!" Lilly burst out suddenly, slouching in her seat, "I thought Martians had all the latest technology and stuff! Can't you make this thing go faster?" Marvin turned to her,

"We do have all the latest technology on Mars, but even we Martians have to follow the laws of physics, you know." Lilly let out another sigh, her head resting on one of her hands.

"How are we going to save the universe going at this speed? Woe's probably blown something up by now!"

"We'll save the universe _when_ we get there." Marvin said sternly and glanced at a clock on the control panel, "Which should be quite soon actually." Lilly perked up a bit and looked eagerly out a window as the ship exited out of hyperspace. Marvin carefully maneuvered through the area, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Lilly, cheek pressed against the glass, tried to survey the area as well but was slightly disappointed when she saw only empty space.

"Uh…Marv? It doesn't look like anyone…or any_thing_ is out there." She continued to peer out at the empty void, shuddering suddenly for some reason. There was that feeling again…

"X-25," Marvin's voice cut through her thoughts, "Scan the area and alert me if you detect anything, and I do mean _anything_, that may be suspicious."

"Yes, Commander. Scan commencing."

"If Woe is out there, we'll find him." Marvin said firmly. Lilly looked back at her friend, then back out at the emptiness outside the ship. X-25 appeared again and reported,

"Scans have detected no trace of any activity, suspicious or otherwise, Commander."

"Hmm, perhaps the Queen transmitted the wrong information…" Marvin mused, "I believe we need to contact Mars and recheck these coordinates."

"Shall I contact the Queen for you, Commander?"

"Yes, we must not waste any more time." Marvin began pacing thoughtfully, planning his next move. Lilly listened from her seat, but continued to look out the window for lack of any better pastime. Suddenly a dark shape flashed by her window. She blinked rapidly, rubbed her eyes and glanced back out. Nothing.

"Uuum…Marvin? I think there's something out there." She moved aside as Marvin approached and looked out.

"I don't see anything, Lilly…maybe all this space travel is getting to you." He headed back to the view screen, "Perhaps you need another one of your 'Earth vacations' after we finish this mission."

"But I _did_ see something, Marvin, I swear!" Lilly crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly, "And I'm not going space-crazy!"

"Lilly," He said in an overly patient voice, "If the scanners did not detect anything, then there truly is not anything out there to be found! Remember this is _Martian_ technology." Lilly blew out a frustrated breath as Marvin cast an annoyed glance towards X-25.

"How long does it take for you to call up Mars?"

"I'm sorry, Commander," X-25 made a few distressed whirring noises, "but it appears that we are unable to send or receive transmissions at this time." Marvin started,

"What?!" He stopped when he noticed a few sparks shoot out from the screen, "X-25? Are you quite alright?"

"Oh, yes Commander." Each word lowered in tone until it was a low rumble, then rapidly increased in pitch until it was little more than a squeak. Both Marvin and Lilly watched in alarm as more sparks began to shower out of the screen. Lilly was the first to recover from the shock,

"X-25! Marvin," She whirled to face her friend, "What's happening?" Marvin looked equally surprised,

"I have no idea! X-25? X-25 can you hear me?"

"Oh yes, Commander. I can hear you quite clearly." A sinister chuckle echoed throughout the ship. Lilly and Marvin froze, exchanging nervous glances.

"That…didn't sound like X-25…" Lilly said uneasily.

--

"So, where do we have to go?" Miranda peered quizzically at the coordinates Meg had punched into the computer, not recognizing the location. She sat in the captain's seat, beginning to become bored by the long trip. Meg pulled up a map of the solar system on the view screen and selected a remote corner, causing the map to zoom in. Studying the map, Meg suddenly whirled on heel and called over her shoulder,

"Computer, project image." The computer complied, making the map suddenly three-dimensional and positioning it so it floated in front of Meg. Miranda watched, wide-eyed and approached the hovering image. Tentatively she poked one floating star and was slightly disappointed when her finger went straight through. She glanced at her sister, who was now studying a large planet hovering in the center.

"What planet is that?" Miranda walked over and joined her sister, "I don't remember learning about it in school…"

"It seems to be unnamed as of now." Meg answered absently, pacing around the image. "But according to this mapping system its catalogue number is IX-V12." Miranda rolled her eyes,

"Thanks for that piece of absolutely useless information, sis." Meg, who usually would have snapped back a retort by now, kept pacing as if she didn't hear. Miranda shifted uncomfortably in silence for a while until she couldn't stand it anymore.

"What's wrong, Meg?" She finally blurted out. Meg stopped for a moment, eyes still glued to the image.

"Oh, it's probably nothing…it's just…why this planet?"

"Why not?"

"Again, it's probably nothing. But something doesn't feel right about this planet. Look," Meg twirled a hand, causing the image to rotate, "there are no deposits of useful natural materials located anywhere on the planet, therefore not useful in any sort of experimentation. It is a planet that is completely isolated, which doesn't match with what we know about Woe – namely that he likes to blow up populated planets. The only thing it has going for it as "Secret Laboratory" material is the fact that it is so remote and off course that probably no one would find it unless they knew of its existence…I didn't even know it existed."

"So it's just a big, dead rock? Don't creepy old scientists like planets like that?"

"I suppose so." Meg shrugged and waved a hand, making the image disappear. A buzzer sounded suddenly, catching her attention. She walked back over to the frontal control panel and peered at the information that popped up on the view screen.

"I suggest putting on your seat-belt, Miranda. It looks like we've arrived." Miranda grinned, glad that the excitement was about to begin. She climbed into a passenger seat Meg had pulled out of the wall and buckled herself in.

"Can I come to watch you beat up mad scientists?" Meg sat in her captain's seat and shot her sister a warning look,

"This is not a game, Miranda; no you cannot come and watch." Meg ignored the pouty face Miranda made and pressed a button on the arm of her seat, activating an intercom.

"Marshall? Can you hear me?"

A pecking sound came over the speaker.

"Excellent. We've arrived on location and I will need you to come to the bridge once we are out of hyper-speed, understand?"

More pecking.

"Good." She deactivated the intercom and returned her attention to the screen before her. The ship eased itself out of hyperspace and neared the large planet. Meg kept her distance and began scanning the planet for any threats. Miranda watched from her seat but turned sharply when a loud thumping sound made her jump. Meg kept her eyes on the screen and waved a nonchalant hand in greeting.

"Hello, Marshall." Marshall lumbered his way into the bridge, yawning. He scratched his large vulture-like head sleepily and surveyed the area. When he caught sight of Miranda he ambled over and gave her a feathery nuzzle in greeting.

" Marshall, cut it out!" She giggled, pushing his head away, "Where you sleeping this entire time? Geeze, talk about being a slacker!" Marshall gave her an indignant look. "Just kidding, Marshall."

Meg continued to keep a careful eye on the information being fed into the computer. After a few more moments, the scanner gave a soft beep and shut down. Meg stared at the information in disbelief,

"This can't be right…computer, rescan area." The computer scanned the area for the second time, returning with the exact same information.

"What? This makes absolutely no sense!" Meg exclaimed, dumbfounded. Miranda and Marshall watched her with growing concern.

"What's wrong, Meg?" Miranda inquired nervously.

"Something is not right. According to the scans there is nothing out there."

"Well, you did say it was basically just a big, dead rock."

"No, Miranda, you don't understand. There is nothing out there, _there is no planet_." Miranda gawked at her sister, looked back out the front portal, then back at her sister.

"But-but I can see it!" She said, pointing, "It's right there! What do you mean it's not there?" Meg shook her head, clearly disturbed by the situation. Suddenly she sat up straight and ordered,

"Computer, head towards that planet at full speed." Miranda's eyes grew large as dinner plates,

"Meg! What are you doing?!" Meg didn't reply, keeping her eyes glued to the view screen. "_Meg_!" Miranda gasped as the ship turned towards the planet, scrambled back to her seat and hurriedly buckled herself in. Marshall, sensing the seriousness of the situation, had already pulled out another passenger seat for himself beside her. Miranda shivered slightly, looking terrified and huddled against Marshall for comfort. Meg continued to stare out the window, as the planet loomed ahead of them.

"Meg…I-I really don't think this is a good idea…"

They entered the planet's thin atmosphere, going into a swift nosedive straight towards the ground. Miranda could feel the forces pressing her back into her seat and she gripped the armrests of her seat tightly.

"Meg…"

The ground was only a mile away now.

"Meg!"

They were going to impact any second.

"_MEG!_"

Right at the moment that impact should have occurred, they were suddenly surrounded by millions of miniscule pixilated specks. Miranda gasped and stared out the window at the tiny glittering dots around their ship. Then, just as suddenly as they had entered into the cloud of glimmering motes, they exited, finding themselves surrounded again by the familiar emptiness of space. Miranda rubbed her eyes, unsure of what she had just seen. Meg turned the ship around and stated in a matter-of-fact voice,

"So, our planet is apparently a very large hologram." Miranda craned her neck and looked, only to see a whole, solid-looking planet in front of them.

"Do you think…the crazy scientist guy did this?" A dark expression flickered cross Meg's face and she replied thoughtfully,

"He must have. But why?" _What did he have to gain from this enormous mirage?_


	4. Attacked!

**What in the world is going on? A conspiracy? A deadly trap? Stay tuned!**

"Lilly, keep close…I have a bad feeling about this." Marvin whispered, keeping one hand on Lilly's shoulder and one on a blaster. Lilly nodded silently, eyes drifting to the frazzled remains of X-25's screen. _Who would do such a terrible thing? _She thought, angrily blinking back tears. She turned to her friend and asked softly,

"Marvin, do you think you can fix her?" Marvin eyed the wreckage sorrowfully, looking slightly doubtful.

"We'll have to see. It depends on how deeply the damage went; hopefully it was only surface damage." He tensed and shot a quick glance over his shoulder, "But we have more pressing matters to attend to presently." He made his way carefully towards the doorway, "Obviously we have an interloper on our ship who needs to be removed." He beckoned Lilly to follow and slipped quietly out the door. Lilly let her gaze rest once more on X-25, hands clenched tightly, before she turned to follow Marvin.

"Oh, I don't think so, miss!"

Lilly gasped as the door slammed shut directly in front of her. She laid her hands flat against the metal, trying to find a way to open them.

"Lilly!" Marvin's voice was just barely audible through the thick doors. Lilly pressed her face against the metal, trying to yell through the miniscule crack.

"Marvin! Marvin, what's going on?!"

"Oh don't worry, my dear, I shall take _excellent_ care of you."

It was that voice again! She whirled around and shouted angrily,

"Who are you?"

Another dark chuckle.

Lilly wasn't one to frighten easily, but even she felt a tremor creep its way up her spine. Unwittingly she found herself backing up, until she felt the cool metal door against her back. She kept an indignant look on her face, not wanting to give this jerk the pleasure of knowing he was creeping her out.

"Hey, buddy, I asked you a _question_. Usually when that happens you give an answer." _Might as well play the tough guy_, Lilly thought.

"Well, aren't you just a precocious little Martian? Still so young and yet already oh so insolent, overweening, lofty and supercilious." The voice said sneeringly. Lilly kept her back pressed against the door and shot back crossly,

"I'm not young, you jerk, I'm eighteen! And you know what else? I think you need to get off our ship!" She glared defiantly in the general direction of where the voice came from.

"My, my, not so hospitable are we? Well no matter, perhaps your little friend will be more welcoming…"

"Don't bet on it, Chuckles."

"Oh, but my dear," The voice said in a velvety tone, "I'm afraid that he will not be able to resist." As the voice spoke, Lilly sensed something approach her from the side and turned swiftly. Another gasp escaped her as a large mechanized insect clattered its way across the bridge, its eight metallic legs glimmering menacingly.

"Uh…oh…" She managed to blurt out, as she began retreating to another corner of the bridge, "This isn't good." The metallic creature suddenly lashed out at her, causing her to duck quickly, leaving a gaping tear in the wall where her head had been. The mechanical eyes narrowed, locking onto its prey. Lilly skidded away, heading back towards the bridge's exit. She slammed into the door, beating against it with her fists.

"Open! Why won't you stupid things _OPEN_!?" Lilly gasped again, seeing the robotic insect crawl swiftly towards her. She heard the mysterious voice laughing in the background,

"Oh, what's wrong my dear? Don't you like my little pet?" The cold, metallic eyes looked hungrily at her. Lilly looked around desperately for something, anything, to defend herself with. She spotted a thick metal bar protruding from the wreckage of X-25's screen. Seeing her only chance, she dove towards it.

"Ah, ah, ah." The voice said disapprovingly, "Violence is not the answer, my dear." Before she could reach out and grab her weapon, she felt a heavy metal clamp close around her torso, pinning her arms. She struggled furiously,

"Let me go! Let _GO_! MARVIN! MARVIN HELP!" All the while, the sinister voice laughed uproariously, as if the whole situation was incredible funny.

--

"Meg what should we do?" Miranda piped up from her seat, watching her sister pace up and down the bridge. Marshall sat beside her and would periodically reach out his neck to nuzzle the distraught young Martian. Meg suddenly stopped in mid-step and turned to her view screen,

"We need to contact Martian High Command. I need to recheck these coordinates; perhaps we will be lucky and find that the only problem was a faulty transmission-" A loud alarm buzzed suddenly, cutting her off.

"Lieutenant," the ship's computerized voice said, "An urgent message from the Queen."

"Well, someone certainly has uncanny timing." Meg said dryly, "Computer, open communication channels." The computer complied and the view screen was once again filled with the familiar image of the Martian Queen. Meg offered a salute and said,

"Your Majesty." The Queen skipped preamble and went straight to business,

"Lieutenant, I have an urgent mission for you." Meg gave the Queen a look of restrained frustration.

"Um, permit me, Your Highness, but I'm currently trying to complete the previous mission you assigned to me. I do try my best to work quickly but I assure you I am not _that_ quick."

"Previous mission?" The Queen suddenly looked puzzled, "I have not given you any assignment since that fiasco back on Maltese VII…I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about." Meg started and looked at the Queen in shock,

"But, Your Majesty, we spoke only a day ago! You had told me that Dr. Woe had escaped and that I was needed to assist the Commander in recapturing him!"

"I don't know what to tell you, Lieutenant," The Queen's face mirrored Meg's shock and confusion, "but I can assure you that whoever sent you that message was not me. We currently have Dr. Woe quite secure in our high-security prison. Take a look for yourself." The screen switched to a surveillance clip of Dr. Woe, looking rather unhappy but still safely incarcerated. Meg was dumbfounded. After a few awkward moments of stunned silence she managed to ask,

"Then what, Your Highness, is my newest assignment?" The Queen's expression changed swiftly,

"We have been trying to contact the Commander's vessel but we have been unable to make any connection. Just a few hours ago we completely lost all signs of his vessel. It appears as if he has disappeared altogether. We have the location of his ship just before it vanished, therefore I need you to go and locate him. There are pressing duties back on Mars that require his attention." Meg, still in a slight state of shock managed a salute and replied,

"I will begin at once."

"I knew I could count on you, Lieutenant. We have transmitted the information to your ship, good luck." As soon as the Queen ended transmission, Meg flung her hands above her head in dismay.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?"

--

"I do not understand this. I do not understand this at all." Meg had resumed her pacing, hands at the small of her back, brow furrowed in concentration, "_First_ we receive an urgent message from Mars, claiming that Dr. Woe has escaped and is causing chaos – as is usual – then we arrive at the transmitted destination to find a large planet which turns out to only be an incredibly large holograph. Now we receive _another _message from Mars claiming that the last one never happened and that Woe is _not,_ in fact, out muddling up the universe, but is safely behind bars. But, this time the Commander is missing." She let out a frustrated sigh, wondering why she ever agreed to join the military. Miranda, who had watched the drama unfold from her seat, also sat contemplating their dilemma.

"Maybe the first one was a trick." Meg faced her little sister, raising what would have been an eyebrow if she had any.

"I more or less already figured that out, Miranda. But a trap set by whom, I wonder?"

"I don't know…but maybe…whoever sent us that fake message got that Commander guy…and _that's_ why he's missing!" She met her sister's gaze, "I think we should go where his ship was last seen, maybe there'll still be some clues floating around." Meg stood thoughtfully for a moment before replying,

"I suppose we have nothing to lose, at any rate. Computer! Set coordinates and head to specified location."

"Coordinates set."

"Excellent." She turned to face Miranda, "I suggest we use this time to prepare, who knows what we'll run into once we arrive." Miranda had a grave look on her young face and nodded silently. Meg looked down at herself and commented,

"Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to pull out the old battle armor." Miranda brightened slightly and looked hopefully at her sister.

"Does that mean I get t-"

"No, Miranda. You do not get to wear military-grade armor."


	5. A Deal and A Squabble

**Creature chaos, brutal bargaining and sibling squabbles!**

"Marvin!" He heard her voice faintly through the thick metal doors and immediately stopped in his tracks as soon as he realized what had happened.

"Lilly!" Moving quickly, Marvin pried open the utility box beside the door, which held the automated door's components. "Hold on, Lilly!" A loud crash sounded from the bridge and reverberated around the small corridor. Marvin pulled at the wires desperately, working as fast as he could. He _had_ to get the door open!

"Oh my, my, my, Commander, that will never do. Remember what they taught back at the Academy? If red touches black…" Marvin froze and whipped around, blaster held at ready. Keeping his eyes peeled for anything threatening, Marvin shouted back,

"Who are you and why are you on my ship?" The voice tsked as a large screen descended from the ceiling, distorted and blurred images flickering across the screen,

"Oh dear, how very Martian you are, Commander, so hostile and uptight." Marvin was about to slip in a snide comment about the fact that he _was_ a Martian, but decided against it. Instead he shot a scathing glare at the screen, eyes narrowing.

"I shall ask you again and this time I demand an answer: who are you and why are you on my ship?"

The voice merely chuckled, a sound that Marvin found keenly disquieting.

"My dear Commander, I am afraid that you are in absolutely no position to demand anything."

"Oh I am not, am I?" Marvin shot back indignantly, "You seem to forget, my disembodied friend, that I am still the commander of this vessel."

"…I'm afraid, Commander, that you do not seem to have a full grasp of the situation. Because, you see, I do have quite a bit of leverage to work with." The previously locked door hissed open suddenly, revealing a large metallic insect. Marvin, reacting quickly, snapped his blaster up into position and let off a warning shot, which scorched the doorframe near the creature's head.

"Do not toy with me." Marvin warned, blaster held at ready, "I will not hesitate to fight back."

"True as that may be, I have a feeling that you will refrain from anymore violence, Commander." The voice said nonchalantly, "As I mentioned before, I do have quite a bit of leverage at my disposal…" The insect clattered out into the corridor, tugging something along behind it.

"Marvin!" Lilly managed to say, before she was lifted up by the thick clamp around her waist and torso. She struggled against her restraint, berating her captor all the while.

"Lilly!" Marvin jolted, his alarm turned swiftly into rage and it took all his will power to keep himself under control, "_Let her go_!" He railed at the screen, absolutely livid with rage. Lilly, craning her neck trying to catch a glimpse of the action had never seen him so angry before…and she had seen him angry countless times. She paused from her struggling for a moment and watched him. _I didn't think he cared that much…_She thought, feeling slightly astonished as the realization dawned on her. A sudden tightening around her torso cut off her train of thought, causing her to gasp for breath.

"Lilly!" Marvin shouted in alarm, taking a step towards her.

"Oh I would not do that if I were in your position, Commander." The clamp continued to tighten as Lilly's vision began to blur, dark spots dancing before her eyes, while she fought for air.

"_Stop_! Don't hurt her!" Marvin's voice sounded more desperate.

"Give me one reason and I probably will oblige, Commander." The voice continued, mercilessly, "Or I shall be forced to dispose of her…which would indeed be a shame. Such a pretty little girl." Lilly felt her energy draining and gave one more valiant effort to release herself, but her mechanical captor kept a firm, steady grip.

"Please, stop! I will do anything!" Through her asphyxiated haze, Lilly heard the sound of metal clattering to the floor and saw his blaster skid across the floor, "Tell me what you want and I will give it, just do not harm Lilly!" The screen's spastic flickering paused for a moment, as if in thought.

"Hmm, _anything_, you say? I daresay that is an offer I cannot refuse! Very well, release the girl." The metallic insect obeyed, depositing Lilly's now limp body on the corridor floor. She hit the floor hard, landing on her side and coughed violently, gasping. She curled up on her side, trembling as her body fought to oxygenate.

"Lilly!" Marvin rushed over and knelt next to her, "Lilly, are you alright?" He gently helped her into a sitting position, supporting her carefully with an arm, "It's going to be fine now, just take deep breaths and relax." He held her as she leaned against him for support. Lilly took a few more shaky breaths before she finally looked up at her friend and whispered hoarsely,

"Thanks, Marv."

"Oooh, isn't that sweet? Someone fetch me a handkerchief." The screen lowered more and swiveled near the two Martians. Marvin wrapped a protective arm around Lilly, who gave their tormentor the best hate-filled look she could muster. "But I am afraid I will have to break up this little 'circle of friendship'."

A deafening crash rattled the ship, coming from the rear, causing both Marvin and Lilly whip around. Out of the back poured half a dozen mechanical insects, identical to the first, legs clattering simultaneously against the metal floor. The first robotic insect suddenly reached out with two of its legs and snatched Lilly up off the floor before Marvin could stop it. He grabbed her hand and held on tightly.

"Lilly! Hang on!" Lilly strained to keep a firm hold on her friend's hand but felt her hand slipping.

"Marvin! _Aargh!_ Let me go, you robotic _freak_!" She shouted in frustration, kicking at the insect as hard as she could, though her body still felt weak. She looked up briefly and saw two other metallic insects creep up behind Marvin.

"Marvin! Behind you-!" Marvin felt two pairs of robotic claws fasten around his chest and pull him away, breaking his grip on Lilly's hand. He fought to reach her again, but was held back securely. The screen watched the entire scene indifferently, before finally cutting in,

"Excellent work, my pets. Now, bring the girl back on my ship. We shall keep her safe for insurance purposes, but keep the Commander here. We still have unfinished business to discuss." The insects complied and Lilly found herself being carried off, against her will.

"Let go! Let go! _LET GO_!" Each word she punctuated with a kick or punch, until her feet and hands were sore from beating away at the cold metal. "Marvin!" Her voice faded as she and her captor rounded the corner and disappeared into the back of the ship.

"Lilly!" Marvin shouted back, then glared darkly up at the screen, "We had a deal! You said you would not harm her!"

"Do try to relax, my good Martian," The screen brushed away Marvin heated accusations, "I am a keeper of my word, she will not be harmed as long as you do exactly as I say…"

--

"I can't believe this still fits." Meg surveyed her appearance in a large mirror protruding from the ceiling, checking to make sure her gold armor was still fully functional. She had also followed her gut instinct and kept her trademark boots on, just in case any flying was necessary. She turned slightly; making sure she also had a full range of motion. Miranda stood behind her and quipped,

"Me neither, 'specially since you eat like one of those Earth pigs all the time. I'm surprised you fit into anything!" Miranda ducked as her sister took a swing at her and scampered away, giggling.

"I do _not_ eat like a pig of any kind!" Meg glared, hands on her hips. Miranda, who had hidden behind the vanity chair, peeked out and shot back,

"Oh, really? Well what about that time you ate all the Chocolate-Crunch-Martian-Mellow Ice Cream at Mom's house a few months ago when we had the family reunion?" Meg looked at her in shock,

"How did you-" Miranda swung herself up into the chair, settled back comfortably and shot her sister a triumphant look.

"I didn't."

"But you just said-"

"I didn't _know _it was you for sure but _you_ just admitted to it." Miranda said smugly, "I mean, I didn't actually think you could eat that much ice cream, sis! That was supposed to feed, like, ten people! Geeze, wait until everyone else hears about _that_." Meg stared at her sister in disbelief before her face flushed red,

"You wouldn't _dare_!"

"Don't worry, Big Sis, I'll save that for when I really need to bribe you."

"Miranda, that's blackmail!"

"It's called business! If you don't like it then you shouldn't be such a pig!"

"I AM NOT A PIG!" Meg burst out, "That was a really tough week for me, okay!? And that was the only time I did that! Do you know what I have to _go through_ every single day, the kind of _pressure_ I have to deal with, the _nonsense_ I have to put up with?! I AM ALLOWED TO HAVE A MOMENT OF WEAKNESS!" She whirled on heel and stomped out the door, back up to the bridge. Marshall was keeping an eye on their progress and gave her a nudge in greeting when she appeared, but pulled back when he saw her mood. He cocked his bird-like head sideways and let out a soft questioning squawk.

"Miranda is being the extremely annoying little sister again." Meg sighed and glared unseeingly at her view screen. After a while she suddenly turned back to him, a slightly worried look on her face,

"Marshall…do I look fat?" Marshall seemed surprised by the sudden question, but peered at her, observing from every angle. He pulled out a pair of spectacles from beneath his bright green plumage and regarded her closely. After a few more moments of observation, Marshall clicked his tongue and shook his head firmly.

"You really don't think so?" Meg pressed a button on the control panel, causing another large mirror to slide out of the ceiling. She surveyed herself, turning repeatedly, looking from the back. "Maybe I should lay off on the snacks between meals…" Just then Miranda ambled in, munching away on a cookie. Meg quickly pressed the button again, making the mirror disappear swiftly into the ceiling. Miranda froze in mid-step, a confused look on her face,

"Meg?...what were you doing?"

"Me? Oh, nothing, nothing. Just, you know, making sure we are on the right track!" Meg put on her best innocent face, hands clasped behind her back. Miranda looked doubtful, but before she could say anything a loud series of blips sounded from the screen. Meg, her appearance forgotten, turned back and studied the information scrolling across the screen.

"Alright, everyone. I do believe we have arrived. Marshall!" Marshall saluted sharply, "I need two ion-blasters, automated charge, damage resistant." She paused, "And I think this time we should go with the _red_ pair. The gold pair would be a bit too ostentatious with my armor, don't you think?" Marshall gave her a blank look but obeyed anyways, lumbering back to the weapons storage and rummaging through. Miranda brightened and looked hopefully at her sister,

"One of those blasters is for me right?" Meg shot her sister a seething glance,

"No, Miranda, you are not qualified to use military-grade weaponry in combat." Miranda pouted while Marshall returned holding the two blasters, which Meg took and placed securely in the holsters on her belt.

"Marshall, I need you to stay close beside Miranda at all times, even if something happens to me. We don't know what is waiting for us out there, so promise me you will keep her safe." Marshall looked worried, but nodded his head. Meg smiled and scratched his head,

"Good boy." She turned her attention to her little sister, "Miranda, you must stay with Marshall at all times, do you understand?" Miranda shrugged grumpily, not replying.

"Miranda? Did you hear me?"

"Ok, yes, I get it!" Miranda shouted crossly. Meg sighed, running a hand over her face,

"Miranda, I am doing this because I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not a baby anymore, Meg!" Miranda glared at her older sister, "You _never_ let me help when I _can_ help you! I'm tired of you never letting me do anything!"

"This isn't a game, Miranda. This is real; you can get hurt if you are not careful."

"I'm not stupid or anything, it's not like I'll walk right into a trap! Do you expect me to sit on the sidelines every time you go out and have all the fun? I'm old enough now to think for myself!" Miranda said, arms crossed defiantly across her chest, glaring angrily at the floor.

"I am not saying you are stupid, but we are dealing with cunning beings here. I have been doing this for years and I still fall for their traps. It's not that I don't trust you," Meg placed a hand gently on her sister's cheek, lifting her face up slightly to meet her gaze, "I just don't trust myself with something as important as your life." Miranda lowered her gaze after a moment, avoiding the intensity in her sister's eyes.

"I don't want to lose you over something as ridiculous as this, Miranda. If something happened to you I would never be able to forgive myself." Meg turned away slightly and said in a quieter voice, "Mother would never survive if you died too." Miranda blinked rapidly, forcing herself not to cry. Finally she shuffled her feet uncomfortably and said softly,

"I'm sorry, Meg."

"No problem, Miranda." Miranda grinned back at her sister and gave her a hug. Meg smiled back at her, then turned back to the screen.

"Well, I suppose it's now or never. Computer! Exit hyperspace and prepare for evasive maneuvers if necessary."

"Yes, Lieutenant." The ship zoomed out of hyperspace and into the dark silence of space. Meg sat back in the captain's seat, hands gripping the armrests firmly. Immediately as they entered the area, an alarm sounded. Meg started in surprise,

"Already? Computer, status report!"

"There seem to be two vessels located directly in front of us, Lieutenant." Meg rushed to the control panel, leaning over the controls to peer out the front portal. Miranda and Marshall watched tensely from their seats.

"Meg, do you see anything?" Miranda piped up.

"Unless my eyes deceive me, there are indeed two ships out there," Meg spoke rapidly, absently; her mind already devising a plan, "And one of them is indeed the Commander's. I would recognize his ship anywhere."

"Then, who is the other one?"

"I don't know…but it's heading straight toward us!" Meg suddenly whirled around and barked out, "Computer, evasive maneuvers _NOW_!" The ship careened sharply, banking to the left. Miranda and Marshall felt the gravity pulling them down and were held in place only by their seatbelts. Meg had activated her boots, which glowed a pale aqua, which kept her firmly rooted to the floor, even as her ship spun upside down. Miranda caught a brief glimpse of their attacker through the window and gasped,

"Uh, Meg…_there's something coming out of it_!" Meg reached for the control panel, but a large explosion rattled the ship, plunging them all into darkness.


	6. Attacked Again!

**Yeah, this bad guy's pretty much a jerk. More drama/action in this scene! Don't worry, things will lighten up soon.**

"Alright, I've just about _had_ it with you, you creep! For the last time, LET ME GO!" Lilly continued to struggle as her metallic captor carried her on board their elusive enemy's vessel. She paused momentarily as they entered the vessel and entered a thick doorway off to the side of the corridor. The mechanical insect clattered over to a spacious containment unit and deposited her unceremoniously into it. Before she could even think of making an escape, the insect activated the unit, causing thick electric bars to appear, trapping her inside. Lilly leaned as close as she dared to the sparking currents and shouted challengingly,

"So you think this thing's gonna keep me here? Just wait until I get out, you'll be sorry -"

"Oh, will I now?" The voice! Lilly whipped her head around strained to catch a glimpse of their tormentor. A dark shape stood silhouetted against the bright light filtering in from the corridor, surveying its catch, "You Martians certainly have an awful habit of thinking you are actually in control, when you are not."

"Maybe, but at least we aren't cowards!" She spat back, secretly trying to lure the voice closer. The shadow stiffened and said in a tightly controlled voice,

"I do not appreciate your tone, young lady." The shadow began to approach, "I would advise you hold your tongue."

"Listen, Mack, you're not the boss of me!" Lilly said defiantly, crossing her arms. Her plan was working!

"Oh, we shall see, won't we?" _Just a little closer…_Lilly held her breath as her curiosity got the better of her. Just as she began to make out the faint features of the shadow's face, one of the robotic insects rattled up the corridor, emitting a rapid series of clicks and blips. The shadow lurched around to face it,

"What?" The insect repeated its report, as Lilly listened, "I was told that the Lieutenant would no longer be any problem! And now you tell me her ship is right outside?!" _The Lieutenant?_ Lilly thought, puzzled. Who was this Lieutenant? The shadow let out an exasperated growl, railing at the robot,

"You incompetent fools, all of you! I should have scrapped you long ago!" Brooding darkly, the shadow continued, "Very well, we shall have to deal with our dear Lieutenant first, then," He turned back to Lilly, "We shall deal with you and your beloved Commander." He turned swiftly and hurried out the door, leaving Lilly alone.

--

"Marshall!" Meg shouted over the sounds of sparking wires and groaning metal crumbling under the attack of heavy artillery, "Marshall, get Miranda out of here!" She ducked as a large panel collapsed and tumbled to the floor. _My ship! Oh, I am going to murder whoever is behind all this! I just redecorated, for Mars' sake!_ Meg thought angrily, watching her vessel being torn to shreds.

Marshall stood at the opposite end of the bridge, sheltering Miranda with his wings. He looked at Meg with concern, shaking his head feverishly. Meg kicked aside a piece of debris,

"I'll be fine, just go!" She covered her head as shards of metal showered down from the ceiling, "NOW!"

"Meg!" Miranda shouted back, reaching towards her sister, "What about you!? We can't leave you alone!"

"Miranda, do as I say or-" Another crash shook the ship, sending Meg reeling. She regained her balance and looked up in time to see a pair of metallic claws tearing back the ceiling. Miranda gave a yell of alarm, pointing up at another section of the ceiling. Meg looked and saw more claws penetrating into the bridge. Grabbing one blaster she fired off a few rounds at the nearest intruder and was rewarded by mechanized squeals of pain. Suddenly Marshall let out a loud squawk, catching Meg's attention. She whirled around in time to see three large robotic insects drop through the ceiling and into the bridge. Marshall aimed a kick at the nearest one, sending it flying across the floor. He scooped up Miranda, placing her on his back and darted out the door. Meg called after them,

"Get into an escape pod! Get off the ship!" She turned and let fly another round from her blaster. One insect, apparently not appreciating the blasts it received, shot out one blast-scorched claw, catching Meg around the waist. She tumbled across the floor and skidded under the frontal control panel. She shook her head, trying to focus her vision and saw her blaster laying a few feet away. She dove for it, but before she could reach it, a second robotic insect crushed it underfoot. It coiled back, preparing for another blow and gashed a deep hole near Meg's hand. Pulling back quickly, she slid back under the control panel, reaching for her second blaster. She started in shock and looked down, realizing she had lost her back-up blaster during her fall. _Oh, drat._ Meg thought, pressing herself as far back as she could and trying to avoid the claws that raked towards her. _This isn't good_…_common Meg, think, think, think! _She desperately looked around for something to buy her more time, her gaze finally resting on her boots. _That's it!_

She sat up as much as she could in the cramped space, with her feet facing her attackers. Inching as close as she dared, she waited until they came in range. Three of the insects finally crouched down, trying to locate their target. Meg gave them a friendly wave and activated her boots at full power. The soles glowed a blindingly bright aqua and radiated a forceful pulse of propulsion, sending the three robots sailing across the bridge, through the wall and out into the corridor, where they landed in a gnarled heap.

--

"Well now, Commander, it seems a friend of yours has dropped in for a visit." Marvin, who was now firmly tied to the captain's seat, jerked his head up and looked at the screen warily, unsure if this was yet another trick.

"A friend?"

"Yes, I am afraid the lovely Lieutenant Meg has decided to make an appearance," The voice sounded uncharacteristically frustrated, "which I find most irksome." Marvin could hardly contain his surprise. Of all the members of the Martian High Command, Meg was the last Martian he expected to come to their rescue. The two of them were not exactly on the…friendliest of terms, after all.

"Are you quite sure it's Lieutenant…_Meg_?" Marvin asked dubiously. The voice let out an exasperated sound and the screen lit up, revealing an image of an Imperial ship being bombarded with dozens of robotic insects.

"Unless I'm mistaken, which I usually am not, this is her vessel. I trust that you, yourself, will recognize it, Commander." Marvin nodded thoughtfully, recognizing the ship immediately. _What on Mars is she doing here? _

"As charming as our Lieutenant is, I'm afraid she shall be much too bothersome to deal with presently. Therefore," The voice cut in, "I shall have to eliminate her." The image on the screen switched to a scene inside the Lieutenant's vessel, as the robotic insects penetrated the ship. Meg appeared on the screen, pushing back a strand of auburn hair that had come loose, looking quite peeved about having metallic insects raiding her ship. Marvin watched as Meg was struck and tumbled under the control panel, disappearing momentarily from sight. The insects swarmed around their prey, taking turns scraping away the control panel, trying to reach her. He held his breath, willing her to reappear, while the voice chuckled all the while.

"Resilient, isn't she? Well, let us see how she gets herself out of this posit- WHAT?!" The voice exclaimed as a bright aqua light suddenly illuminated the entire screen, sending three robots flying across the bridge and crashing through a wall. Marvin couldn't hold back a grin when he realized how she had achieved that affect, for Meg was quite proud of her trademark footwear. His captor, however, was much less amused by her success.

"How did she-this was not-…this is unacceptable!" The voice raged, "I refuse to be defeated! Very well, if my minions fail to do my bidding then I shall have to eliminate her myself!"

--

Meg laughed triumphantly when she saw the crumpled robotic remains, then groaned as she crawled out of the tiny space. The powerful force had slammed her back against the wall, leaving her feeling rather sore.

"Ow, ow, ow…" Meg rubbed her back ruefully and tried to stretch. "Oh my…ow, ok, yes, I certainly will be feeling _that_ in the morning."

"…you might also be feeling _this_ as well." A voice suddenly cut in, catching her completely off guard. Before she could turn around, she felt a thick piece of metal hit her from behind, sending her pitching head-over-heels across the floor. She landed on her face and tried to push herself up, but only managed to get up on her elbows. Acute pains shot through her body, causing her to catch her breath sharply. She gripped her side tightly as the voice continued,

"So sorry about that, but you did catch me at a very inopportune time, you know." Meg gripped her side tightly and said sarcastically,

"I apologize, was I interrupting you while you were commandeering a Martian Imperial vessel?" The voice suddenly sighed in an extremely aggravated manner.

"I am actually on a very tight schedule, Lieutenant, we evil geniuses have to work with deadlines as well, you know. And your appearance has already put me a good hour behind schedule! So let us go straight to the point. You are now under my control, do as I say and you will not be harmed. Is that clear?" _Well this is certainly unconventional_, Meg thought before replying,

"You will not find me a very willing participant in your schemes." The voice sighed again.

"Oh very well, if you must be so difficult: if you do not agree to do my bidding then I shall have to resort to force and leverage and the like, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Bring the girl and the bird-creature in!" Meg jolted as Marshall and Miranda were pushed in. Both were wrapped in tight electro-magnetic shackles, Marshall looking like a trussed up Earth Turkey right before Thanksgiving.

"Basically, Lieutenant, the bottom line is: unless you do as I say, I will have to harm your two beloved companions. This would indeed be regrettable. Therefore, I believe you would agree with me that cooperation is the best option." Miranda caught sight of Meg and tried to rush over, but was held back firmly.

"Meg! Meg, are you hurt?" Miranda's eyes looked fearfully at her sister, worried. Meg looked steadily back at her sister, contemplating. There was really only one thing she could do.

"Very well, what is it you want me to do?" The voice let out a sigh, this time of relief.

"Ah, excellent, that was worked out much more swiftly than I expected." It cleared its throat, "You will learn shortly, but first…Insectrons? Bring the little Martian girl and that…thing…on board my ship. Put them with the other Martian girl. But bring the Lieutenant onto the Martian Commander's ship. I do believe we might as well 'kill two birds with one stone' as the Earthlings say."

"Meg!" Miranda shouted as she and Marshall were dragged away. Meg struggled to lift herself into a sitting position. One large insect scurried over, grabbed her roughly, causing her to wince and carried her off.

--

"No, I want to go back! I need to make sure my sister is ok! She was hurt, let me go! Please!" Miranda fought violently, tears beginning to stream down her face, pleading with her guard. The robot remained indifferent to her cries. Marshall, beak clamped shut tightly by a thick metal band, tried to stretch his neck towards her to give some comfort, but found he could not reach. The two were hustled down a brightly lit corridor and shoved into a wide, faintly lit room. The room was empty except for one large containment unit, activated and glowing menacingly. Through the yellow, sparking beams, Miranda caught sight of another Martian, who peered out at them with curiosity. One of their insect captors scurried ahead and deactivated the top of the unit. Then both Miranda and Marshall found themselves thrown in, shackles and all. Miranda scrambled to her feet and quickly threw herself towards the glowing bars that trapped them, shouting after the two retreating robots,

"No, come back! Where is my sister? Hey!" She moved dangerously close to the electrically charged beams, before the other Martian cried out in alarm.

"Hey, watch it!" Miranda felt herself being pulled back by her shirt and, losing her balance, fell backwards onto her savior. Both Martians fell with a thud, with Miranda ending up somehow sitting on top the other. Lilly pushed her off and said indignantly,

"What do you think I am, a chair?" She brushed herself off, "And what on Earth did you think you were doing? This thing is sending out a ton of electricity! What, were you planning on becoming a deep-fried Martian Burger or something?"

"N-n-no." Miranda's eyes suddenly filled with tears, "I just want to know if my…sister is….ok!" The last word ended in a wail as Lilly watched in shock. Miranda suddenly burst into tears, covering her face with her shackled hands. Lilly instinctively moved closer to the younger Martian and tried to comfort her.

"Hey, hey, it's ok, common don't cry." Lilly shushed her gently, "I'm sure your sister's fine…" After a few more minutes, Miranda sniffled and rubbed at her eyes. She finally peered up at Lilly and regarded her cautiously,

"Who…who are you?"

"My name's Lilly."

"Lilly? That's a funny name."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not!"

"_Yes_, it is."

"Who says?"

"I do."

"Well what's your name?"

"Miranda," Miranda turned and pointed at the squirming feathery lump beside them, "And that's Marshall." Lilly stepped back and observed the odd pair: a pig-tailed Martian girl who looked to be a few years younger than herself and a strange looking fowl. She scratched her head and asked,

"So, Miranda, what are you guys doing out here?" She paused, realization hitting her, "Were you attacked by the voice too?"

"The voice?" Miranda looked puzzled, "No I don't think so. But there were a bunch of really big bugs." She made a face, "They were ugly and they had a dumb name. I think they were called 'Insectrons' or something lame like that…oh wait!" She suddenly stopped, "There _was_ a voice! When they took me and Marshall away, a voice was talking to us...it said they would put us in here and take my sister to the Commander's ship!" Lilly took in all this new information and the puzzle pieces began to slowly fall into place.

"Miranda, is your sister a Lieutenant?" Miranda brightened and nodded eagerly.

"Yep. My sister is the _best_ Lieutenant on Mars!" She said proudly, then glanced up at Lilly curiously, "What are you doing out here? Are you friends with the Commander?" Lilly grinned, remembering how he had saved her.

"Yeah, we are."


	7. Onboard an Enemy Ship

**Ah, sorry for not updating in a while, my muse has been uncooperative and basically anything I tried to write would come out...terrible. But finally I kicked the old muse back into gear and we're back in business! Only one more chapter left before the end of all this Mayhem!**

_I am definitely going to be sore in the morning…_, Meg thought ruefully as she was half dragged, half carried into the shadowy invader's ship, wincing as each step jarred her already pained body. _Ow…ow…ow, OUCH!...ow…yeah, that will leave a mark._

They marched through the brightly lit corridor until they came to a large door, intricately engraved with minute designs – which might have been rather pretty if Meg's head wasn't throbbing quite as much. The door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a complex control panel and a large captain's seat facing away from the door. The sound of a voice came from the far end of the chamber, breaking the silence,

"Well, now that I have _two_ distinguished members of the Martian High Command in my grasp, I'm sure my plan of galactic conquest shall be more easily reached." _Two members_? Meg thought, puzzled. She thought carefully for a moment before freezing, _Oh no…_

The large captain's seat swiveled around suddenly and Meg found herself face to face with the Martian Commander,

"Commander!"

"Lieutenant! What on _Mars_ are you doing here?"

"I was sent here to find _you_! What on Mars are _you_ doing here?!"

"-Enough!" The voice cut in impatiently, "I did not kidnap the two of you in order for you to chit-chat, understand? We have negotiations to discu-_OUCH_!" Meg reeled around and slammed one booted foot into the screen, sending it clattering to the floor. The robotic insect holding her was distracted momentarily, giving her enough time to aim another high kick and for her boot to connect with creature's face. It squealed in pain, scurrying to the opposite end of the bridge, as another screen descended from the ceiling, lowering itself so it hung eye-level to the fuming Martian,

"What in the Univers_e_ was that for?!" It spat out indignantly.

"What was that for? WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Meg leaned forward angrily with each word, hands clenched at her sides, "_YOU_ just turned _MY_ ship into Earthling _SWISS CHEESE_!" The screen inched back timidly, suddenly losing confidence,

"Oh, er, I see…I mean to say, uh, sorry about tha-"

"SORRY?" Meg grabbed the screen and forcefully pushed it towards the front portal, "Look at it, just _LOOK_ at it! It's completely _decimated_! Do you honestly think an apology is going to fix _THAT_? Do you know how _LONG I WORKED_ on it? I just finished redecorating it a _WEEK_ ago!"

"Well, I –uh, no, I mean, I don't think it looks that bad. Just a little scratch here and…uh…there…" The screen's voice faded off as a large chunk of Meg's ship's hull broke off and drifted away. It swiveled around meekly, facing Meg, who stood with hands firmly on her hips, now looking thoroughly enraged.

"A scratch?" She asked softly. Marvin cringed inwardly when he heard the tone in her voice, _Uh-oh…this isn't going to end well…_

"Uh, er…yes?"

"A _scratch_?"

"No? Hold on, I know this one..."

"A SCRATCH?"

"Wait, what were my options again…?"

Marvin, who had wriggled one of his hands free of its bonds, pulled down the visor of his helmet and ducked.

--

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Lilly dusted off her hands, surveying her work. Beside her sat a large pile of bent bobby-pins and half a dozen unlocked shackles.

"Wow, I didn't think that would actually work!" Miranda stood, looking at her freed wrists in amazement, before looking back up at the other Martian, "But…why do you wear that many bobby-pins anyway?" Lilly shrugged,

"You never know when a bobby-pin could come in handy!" She turned to observe their containment unit, "Now we just have to find a way to bust out of here." She tried to carefully pick at the electrically charged bars, but ended up getting a painful shock in the process.

"OW!" Lilly nursed her hand, wincing slightly, "Ok, that's not going to work, I guess."

"Well, duh." Miranda said dryly, when suddenly a loud explosion shook the ship, sending all three tumbling to the floor. The bars on their containment unit quivered slightly before shutting off, leaving the trio in complete darkness. From somewhere in the gloom, Marshall let out a wheezy cough and rubbed his sore neck.

"Marshall? Marshall!" A muffled voice said irritably. Marshall perked up and looked around eagerly.

"Marshall, you fat bird…thing! Get _OFF_!" Marshall's eyes widened when he realized what he had done and quickly scrambled up. Miranda and Lilly both gasped for air.

"Geeze," Lilly said between gasps, "Don't take this the wrong way, Marshall, but you seriously need to lose a few pounds!" She pushed herself up into a standing position and checked to make sure nothing was broken. Miranda stood up beside her and stretched her back,

"Ooooow, Marshall!" She whined, before she looked around and brightened suddenly, "Hey look, someone cut off the power! We can probably break out of here!" She took a step forward and immediately smacked into a bar, "Ouch!"

"You might want to be more careful there, Miranda." Lilly reached out into the dark and felt for the bars with her fingertips, "I don't think there's much we can do unless we have some-"

"-light?" A voice cut through the darkness as the door slid open, revealing a dark shape silhouetted against the dim glow of a flashlight. Marshall growled, putting himself in front of Miranda, who peeked out from behind her protector curiously. Lilly brightened and flung herself against the bars, gripping them excitedly,

"Marvin!"

--

"So, wait, your real name is…Marvin?" Marvin looked down at the pig-tailed Martian girl. Miranda blinked a few times and returned his look, peering up at him inquisitively. He looked back at Lilly, who grinned at him, before sighing,

"Yes."

"Oh…ok…" Miranda tried to stifle a giggle, but wasn't very successful and ended up bursting out in peals of laughter. Marvin gave her an annoyed look and snapped,

"And just who might you be?" Miranda managed to stop giggling long enough to answer.

"I'm Miranda, Meg's my big sister! You know Meg right?" Marvin's eyes widened in surprise.

"Well, of course I know who the Lieutena- er, Meg is. I didn't know she had a younger sister."

"Really? Well, she does and that's me."

"I see…" Miranda cocked her head sideways and glanced around, suddenly looking worried.

"Speaking of Meg, where'd she go?" She turned back to the older Martian pleadingly, "Is she ok?"

"Oh, don't worry about her-" A loud crash echoed throughout the ship, causing Lilly and Miranda to jump, though Marvin continued on as if nothing happened, "-she's presently taking care of-" Another crash, "-business." A large piece of metal flew through the air and slammed against the wall behind them, leaving a cloud of smoke trailing behind it.

"And _that_ is what you get for ruining my ship's new paint job! And this-" Another loud clang, "Is for _RUINING_ the _UPHOLSTERY_!"

As the smoke dissipated, another female Martian appeared; wearing scuffed armor but whose hair and appearance was otherwise perfectly in place. Miranda brightened and launched herself at her sister,

"Meg!" Before Meg could reply, she found herself caught around the waist and tumbling to the floor. Miranda hugged her sister, gripping on for dear life, while Meg laughed and patted her on the head.

"Well, someone is apparently glad to see me!" Miranda buried her face against her sister, still clinging,

"I thought you were gonna die!" Meg rolled her eyes,

"Thank you for believing in me and my survival skills." She grinned at her sister and hugged her back, before standing up. Miranda turned back towards the other two Martians and said to Lilly,

"Lilly, this is my big sister, Meg!" Meg brushed herself off and regarded the newcomer with curiosity,

"Lilly?" Lilly replied quickly,

"I know, I know, it's a weird name. Miranda and I have already been through this." Meg shook her head and said absently,

"Oh no, it is not strange at all. Actually it comes from the genus Lilium, which are herbaceous flowering plants which are native of Earth and normally grow from bulbs; also comprising of a genus of about 110 species in the lily family, otherwise referred to as Liliaceae. They are important as lovely large showy flowering garden plants, and are commonly referred to in Earth literature." She started suddenly, realizing she had been rambling, "Er, I mean, it is a rather pretty name." Marvin and Lilly stared at her blankly, while Miranda merely shrugged,

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Meg's also a botanist and an Earth Advocate/Specialist. In other words, she really likes plants." She grinned, "Don't worry, you get used to it after a while."

"A lieutenant, a botanist _and_ an Earth Advocate/Specialist?" Lilly seemed slightly impressed, "And I thought Marv here was an overachiever. Hey, speaking of Earth, funny story: I'm actuall-"

"Moving on." Marvin cut her off, ignoring the indignant look on her face, "Before we waste any more precious time with trivial bits of botanical information, I suggest we find out, once and for all, who this phantom miscreant is."

"Agreed." Meg crossed her arms, "And once we find him, I'm making _him_ repair _my_ ship." Marvin whirled to face her.

"Your ship? He damaged my ship too, you know!"

"Well does your ship look like a piece of pie that was caught in a battle with a laser canon and _lost_?"

"Uh…no?"

"Then you will certainly agree that my ship is in greater need of forced labor than yours." Before Marvin could argue, Meg turned on heel and began making her way up the corridor. She glanced back,

"Coming?"

"As a matter of fact-" Marvin started, but apparently thought better of it, sighed and followed after her. "Why do I have to be surrounded by such difficult females?" Miranda stifled another giggle as she, Lilly and Marshall followed close behind.


	8. The Enemy Revealed!

**Almost the end! Thanks to nightmarebeforechristmasfreak and acosta perez jose ramiro for the reviews :)**

"I spy something…gold."

"Umm…the light?"

"Nope."

"Meg's blaster?"

"No, but you're getting warmer." Miranda peered around carefully before suddenly perking up and exclaiming,

"Oh, oh I know! It's the Commander's helmet! Right?"

"You got it!" Lilly couldn't help but grin at Miranda's enthusiasm, "Alright, Marvin, it's your turn." Marvin, who had been lost in thought planning their next move, jolted when he heard his name. He whirled to face the two younger Martians tagging along and snapped irritably,

"What?"

"It's your turn to spy something, Marvin."

"Lilly, we don't have _time_ for this now!"

"Common, Marv, we're just trying to have some fun. We've been searching forever and, to be honest, it's getting kind of boring..." Marvin glared at her, saying sarcastically,

"Oh, excuse me; I wasn't aware that finding our unseen captor before he finds _us_– a life and death situation by the way – was so unentertaining for you. How about this: I spy something dark and ominous." Both Miranda and Lilly looked around for a moment, before he snarled at them, "_IMPENDING DOOM_, that's what I spy! Unless we keep moving and keep quiet, that is. This isn't a game, Lilly, this is _survival_!" He spun on heel and stomped ahead, joining Meg; who had watched the entire scene with a look of amusement on her face. Miranda, eyes wide, inched towards Lilly and whispered,

"I spy a cranky Martian." Lilly chuckled and smiled reassuringly at her.

"Don't take it personal, he gets like that sometimes. Especially when he's on the job." Miranda looked ahead towards the Commander, now caught in a discussion with her sister.

"Yeah, Meg can get like that too sometimes…except she doesn't yell quite as much."

--

"Imagine! Playing games at a time like this…" Marvin muttered under his breath, joining Meg, who had a barely concealed smile on her face. He shot her a glare,

"Is there something you find _amusing_, Lieutenant?" Meg raised what would have been an eyebrow at his tone, tsk-ing and shaking her head slightly.

"Now, now, Commander, let us not become snide over such a trivial little thing." Marvin flung his arms up over his head dramatically and exclaimed,  
"Trivial? TRIVIAL?! We are running for our lives and _they_," He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder towards the two giggling Martians, "Are acting as if it's an afternoon picnic!"

"They're still young," Meg said softly, lowering her voice, "You obviously have not been with Lilly very long or you would most likely treat the situation differently. Why shouldn't she have a care-free attitude? At least she is not _panicking _over our present situation, would you prefer that?" Meg shrugged before continuing, "Perhaps this is how those two stay focused, on Earth they have a saying: whistling in the dark. Perhaps this light jocularity is their way of keeping their courage and morale high." Marvin, anger and frustration now dissipated, eyed her warily,

"Well…I suppose when you put it that way…" He observed her closely, "I never realized you were such the expert in…rambunctious young Martians. I thought your expertise only included plants and all things related to Earth." Meg waved a hand casually,

"Oh, after being an elder sister to that firecracker over there for fifteen years, one learns quickly."

"I see." He paused, "You know I never knew you even had a sister." Meg looked back at him, expression unreadable.

"I tend to keep my personal life separate from my military duties." Her glance flickered over Miranda, "Usually." She fixed her gaze on Marvin suddenly,

"I would prefer it if Miranda remained off my records. The less my family is known outside certain _safe_ circles, the better off they will be. I would prefer if my sister does not become prospective ransom material." Marvin nodded slowly,

"As far as I am concerned, Lieutenant, she does not exist."

"Thank you." Meg allowed a small smile to cross her face briefly before turning and continuing her way down the dark corridor. Marvin stood behind for a moment, deep in thought, before he turned back to the two younger Martians behind. They were talking in soft, though excited voices, unaware of Marvin's presence until they nearly bumped into him. Once they caught sight of him they immediately grew quiet, looking at him pensively.

"Uh…er…" Marvin began, rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly. Lilly blinked a few times, cocking her head slightly in curiosity, while Miranda peered at him suspiciously.

"Yes?" Lilly finally asked.

"Well…uh…I…spy something…metal." Both Lilly and Miranda looked back at him in surprise, before bursting out into stifled giggles. Marvin wore a stunned expression on his face, not sure exactly what was happening. Miranda was the first to recover,

"Nice try, Mr. Commander." She giggled again, "Now you're just teasing us."

"No I'm not!" Marvin insisted, "I do mean it. I spy something metal!" Lilly shook her head, still laughing,  
"Marv, sorry to break it to you, but you are the _worst_ at this game!"

"What? Why?" Marvin said indignantly, arms crossed over his chest. Lilly looked around, arms spread out for emphasis.

"Marvin, we're on a spaceship…_everything_ here is metal!" Marvin's eyes popped open and he looked around, realizing what Lilly had said was true.

"Oh…" He finally managed. His response elicited new peals of giggles from both Miranda and Lilly, who leaned against each other for support in their mirth. From somewhere up ahead, Meg also could be heard laughing.

--

"He must be around here somewhere." Marvin muttered, peering around the corner cautiously. The Martian troupe had picked their way through the ship, searching every nook and cranny for their elusive enemy. Their search finally led them to one last chamber, nestled far in the rear of the ship. Marvin approached the door carefully, pressing the side of his face against it, trying to listen.

"Common, Marv, can't we just knock the door down?" Lilly said impatiently. Marvin straightened

"No, Lilly, we must do this the right way-" A shot from a blaster zipped past his face and created a gaping hole in the door. Marvin whirled around and saw Meg, holding a smoking blaster.

"_Lieutenant!_"

"What?" She said defensively.

"That was- we don't – why – who do-" He sputtered before finally bursting out, "I am currently the highest ranking officer in this operation, ergo you will do as I say!"

"Well, Commander, that is debatable."

"Debatable?!"

"Remember that I am not only a Lieutenant but I also am the only Earth Specialist on Mars." She looked at him meaningfully, "And being the _only_ one implies that I have no one to answer to. So if I chose to continue this little operation as an Earth Specialist instead of a Lieutenant, then you would have no authority over me." She met his scowl with a sweet smile, before brushing past him and entering the chamber.

Marvin blew out a frustrated breath,

"Why do I even bother?" He entered the chamber, followed closely by the rest of the troupe. As soon as he entered the chamber, his previous frustrations evaporated, leaving surprise in its wake. He jolted when he was what was inside, or more specifically what was not inside. Meg stood at the center of the chamber, looking around at the bare white walls and empty space in confusion.

"What?!" Marvin joined her, 'What is going on? Why is there nothing here?"

Miranda suddenly cried out, causing both older Martians to jump nearly out of their skin. Meg whirled around to face her sister,

"What's the matter?" Miranda peeked out the doors,

"Meg! We forgot about Marshall! Where was he the last time you saw him?" Meg froze at her sister's words, smacking herself on the forehead.

"Stupid, stupid, incompetent…unobservant _fool_!" She growled at herself, stomping a booted foot on the ground, 'How on _Mars_ could I fail to notice he was missing this whole time?! I am such a horrid Martian!"

"Er, well I wouldn't go so far as to say that-" Marvin began, trying to assure his distraught companion. Lilly perused the bare chamber, uneasiness growing.

"I have a really bad feeling about this, you guys…" she said, eyeing the bare walls with apprehension.

"As well you should." Everyone froze as that now-familiar voice echoed throughout the chamber. A thick padlocked door clamped down over the original entrance, locking them firmly in. Miranda leapt back from the door to avoid becoming a Martian pancake. Meg gripped her scavenged blaster, inching closer to her younger sister. Marvin glared randomly about the room, trying to locate the source of the voice.

"All right, miscreant. I for one, have had enough of your nonsense! Show yourself!"

"With pleasure, my dear Commander." A billowing cloud of smoke formed in the center of the chamber, a sinister chuckle emanating from it. Suddenly, the smoke cleared, revealing a familiar figure.

"Woe!" Marvin exclaimed.

"I knew it!" Lilly said from the sidelines, looking pleased with herself, "I knew it was you all along!" Woe grinned devilishly at her,

"Oh you did, did you? Well I bet you were not expecting _this_!" Dr. Woe clapped his hands sharply, causing another plume of smoke to appear. When the smoke cleared, in his place stood another familiar figure.

"Your Majesty!" Meg said and paused a moment, "..wait… Your…Majesty?"

"That's right, Lieutenant. I certainly had you fooled, didn't I?" The Martian Queen said, flipping a lock of shimmery white hair behind a shoulder. The four disgruntled Martians gaped at her in disbelief. Marvin was the first to snap out of it, shaking his head firmly,

"No, something's not right. I know my Queen and you are not her. Therefore you _must_ be an imposter!" He jabbed an accusing finger towards the 'Queen'. She laughed gaily,

"Oh my, you certainly are observant, Commander. But of course you are correct." She suddenly clapped and disappeared in yet another puff of smoke. Lilly gasped as the next figure appeared,

"Dodgers?"

Another clap.

"Wait…Z-9? Where'd _he_ come from?" Miranda, who stood beside Lilly, seemed thoroughly confused by the situation.

Another clap.

"Stop changing so fast! I can't even tell who – oh, I remember you, you're the crazy Earth scientist guy Meg brought me to meet! No wait…no, you're not anymore."

Another clap.

"Oh, oh, I know this one!" Lilly, her face scrunched in concentration, "Let's see…Manobrain! I remember him! Oh and now, you're…you're Rona Viper! Ha! This is better than Charades! Your turn Marvin! Marvin?" Both Marvin and Meg stood off to the side, impatiently glaring at the constantly changing charlatan, clearly not amused by the fun and games. Finally Meg burst out,

"Alright, we get the message: you can impersonate people. Now can we please move on?" The last figure disappeared in a swirl of smoke and the voice spoke grudgingly,

"Very well, my all you Martians are so impatient!" The smoke dissipated once more, this time revealing an unfamiliar face, "Behold! Your cunning and crafty enemy!" Before them stood a short humanoid dressed in a large, glittering sequined top hat, cape and masquerade mask. Lilly and Miranda cocked their heads sideways, squinting carefully at the new form before them. After a while, Miranda turned to Lilly,

"Ok, I've got nothing, it's your guess."

"Huh, I don't know who he is either…hey, why are you wearing that funny mask anyway?"

"Funny? _FUNNY_? You dare to question my wardrobe selections?" The little man fumed.

"Uh…yeah?"

Their finally unveiled enemy drew his cape around himself dramatically, "For your information, young ones, I wear this mask to strike fear into the hearts of my nemeses! For there is nothing more disconcerting to the mind than the thing that is…unknown!" Marvin eyed him suspiciously,

"So to strike fear in our hearts…you wear…a strange mask."

"That is the plan in a nutshell, yes." Meg rolled her eyes at their caped contender,

"Well perhaps the whole 'mask-and-cape' thing works just peachy for you, but I for one," She pulled out her blaster, "Like doing things the old-fashioned way." She held it up, aimed and ready, "Now I suggest you surrender and fix my ship or else your snazzy little outfit will have a few extra holes in it."

"Well, goodness, we certainly cannot have _that_ now can we?" Their enemy clapped his hands, disappearing in a veil of smoke. His voice echoed sinisterly throughout the chamber, "I am afraid the magic show is over, my dear Martians. Now, The Illusionist must wrap things up…literally." Miranda paused and glanced up at the dark, ominous clouds beginning to close in around them from all sides,

"The Illusionist? Seriously? He couldn't come up with a better name than _that_?"

**THE END! - No, just kidding, I lied before...I guess there will be at least one or two more chapters. I wasn't expecting the story to go on so long but this one sort of seems to be writing itself!**


	9. A Man Behind a Curtain?

**The story continues! Thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed the story :) Hope you enjoy this next segment!**

"Hmm…well, I suppose this is getting rather serious isn't it?" Meg commented, tilting her head back to get a good look at the dark smoky clouds swirling around them. Marvin turned with an incredulous look on his face and said sarcastically,

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Lieutenant. Anything else you'd like to tell us?" Meg caught his look and returned it with an expression equally scathing.

"Oh believe me, there are things I would just _love_ to tell you." She muttered under her breath and scanned the room for the rest of the crew. Miranda coughed from across the chamber, fanning at the cloudy air around her while Lilly stood near her, looking around for their captor. Marshall wandered around blindly, occasionally bumping into walls and squawking in protest. She backed up as the smoke continued to fill the chamber, coughing and waving her hand in front of her face, trying to disperse the clouds. Suddenly she felt someone bump into her from behind and she whirled around, face to face with the Commander.

"We might want to try coming up with some sort of _plan_ now, Commander." Meg managed to say between coughs, "As much as I love this 'rustic' feel, I do not particularly want to become hickory smoked."

"What do you think I've been trying to do this whole time?!" The Commander exclaimed, also coughing, "But how can we fight an opponent we can't even see?" The two Martians stood close together, wracking their brains for an idea, when a cry from Miranda caught their attention. Through the thickening fog, they saw Miranda pointing up towards the ceiling, eyes wide. They turned and jolted in surprise to see their enemy's face, five times its previous size, hovering above them, laughing mockingly. Lilly rubbed her eyes, which smarted slightly from all the smoke, and peered up at the hovering face.

"Hey, wait a second…" She squinted and tilted her head, observing the face closely, "Something doesn't seem right here." A thought popped into her head, causing her to start suddenly, "I got it! MARVIN!" She rushed in his general direction excitedly, trying to find her way through the dense smoke,

"Marvin!"

"Over here, Lilly!" She screeched to a halt and reversed, darting the opposite way, "No, on your left, Lilly. Your _other_ left! No wait, that would be _your_ right wouldn't it-_OOF_" Lilly collided with him, sending both of them tumbling to the floor, barely missing Meg, who managed to side-step and avoid being part of the crash.

"Marv?" Lilly peered around, "Where'd you go?"

"Present…" A slightly muffled voice came from underneath her. She looked down and saw that she had somehow ended up sitting on him.

"Oh, whoops! There you are!" She pulled him up and flipped up his helmet's visor, grinning, "Sorry about that." He dusted himself off and gave her a look of mild annoyance.

"I'm quite used to it by now. What were you so worked up about anyhow?"

"I think I've figured it out!"

"Figured, _what_ out?"

"What the bad guy's doing."

"I'm rather certain that we can see what he's doing, Lilly, he's clearly trying to annihilate us." He waved his arms to encompass the entire chamber, now completely filled with the thick dark clouds, "In case you haven't noticed yet." He added sarcastically. Lilly crossed her arms impatiently and gave him a look, rolling her eyes.

"No, Marvin, I'm saying I think I know how he's doing it! It's like in the Wizard of Oz!"

"The Who of What?" Marvin looked back at her blankly.

Lilly smacked her forehead with her palm and sighed. _This is going to be tougher than I thought_.

"Look, there's this guy who says he's an all powerful wizard, but he's really just an ordinary guy. With me so far?" Marvin's brow was wrinkled slightly in concentration.

"Powerful…wizard…normal guy…yes, I believe I understand so far."

"Ok, now stick with me on this." She continued, "So he uses special gizmos and stuff to make it seem like he's this big, powerful guy. Like this one machine thing he uses he stands behind a curtain, but his face shows up all huge and intimidating somewhere else. So everyone believes he's really a wizard." Marvin nodded slowly.

"Even though he really wasn't." She said pointedly.

Another nod.

"But everyone _thought_ he was."

"Hmmm…"

"So he was really _tricking_ people."

"Really? Are you certain?"

"Ugh!" Lilly threw her hands up in the air, when Meg approached out of the haze, tugging Miranda along behind her, "Meg, you're supposed to be an Earth Specialist, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Please tell me you know what I'm talking about when I say this whole thing reminds me of the Wizard of Oz." Meg paused thoughtfully,

"The Wizard of Oz? Oh you mean the children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow? If I remember correctly, it is one of the best-known stories in Earthling popular culture and has been widely translated…I read a Martian adaptation actually, years ago. I recall that historians, economists and literary scholars have even examined it and developed possible political interpretations of the tale as well. Its initial success, and the success of the popular 1903 Broadway musical Baum adapted from his story caused him to write thirteen other stories related to Oz." She stopped suddenly and looked at Lilly, "Is that the story you were referring to?" Lilly looked at the older Martian, a surprised expression on her face. After a moment she grinned,

"Sheesh, you really _are_ an Earth Expert are you?"

"Well, I try." Meg waved the compliment away casually, "Now, what about this Wizard of Oz story?"

"I think this guy's pulling a Wizard of Oz on us," Lilly explained hurriedly, pointing up at the smirking face, "That would explain how he managed to change shape and how he's doing all of this." Miranda perked up and added,

"That would explain the fake planet we flew through! And those fake messages we got from the Queen that really weren't from the Queen." She gasped, "Whoa, he must use one _huge_ machine to do all that!"

"You may be on to something, Lilly. It certainly would explain many things…" Meg gazed around absently, thinking, before turning back to the younger Martian, "So if we really have a con artist on our hands all we have to do is-"

"-find the man behind the curtain!" Lilly finished triumphantly. Marvin stood listening to the entire exchange quizzically,

"Earthlings have the strangest stories." He said finally, shaking his head.

--

"I don't see any curtains in here!"

A sigh.

"Marvin, why do you always have to be so _literal_?"

"Well you said that we have to find the man behind the curtain, didn't you?" Lilly refrained from smacking her forehead with her palm and instead rolled her eyes,

"Marv, I didn't mean that our enemy is _actually_ a man behind an _actual_ curtain! I was just using that as an example!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that?!"

Meg shook her head as she brushed past him through the thick, cloudy smoke, hands pressed flat against the wall,

"The phrase, I believe, has become more or less a common phrase in Earthling vernacular, Commander. An idiom or sorts, if you will." Her hands suddenly came into contact with a soft, fluffy material. She poked it cautiously, causing a wheezy giggle to come out. She put her hands on her hips and looked up at the familiar face,

"Marshall…shouldn't you be doing something useful?" Marshall nodded vigorously.

"Well then, get started! We've got to escape before this trickster pulls another fast one on us."

Marshall nodded again, cranked his neck back, sharp beak pointed towards the ceiling, and slammed it deep into the metal wall. The scrape of beak against metal echoed throughout the chamber.

"Marshall!" Meg watched in shock, "You insane fowl, what on mars are you _doing_?"

Marshall indicated the large hole he had made with his beak, stuck a feathered wing inside it and pulled, causing a portion of the wall to open, revealing a door. Meg smiled broadly and hugged Marshall tightly around his skinny neck,

'Oh, Marshall, you are wonderful!"

Marshall beamed down at her.

"Commander, you should look at this!" Meg called, "I do believe Marshall has found the curtain!"


	10. Discovered

**An update! Oh my gosh! No way!**

"And of course," Marvin said dryly from somewhere in the dark corridor, "The evil villain _has _to have a dark, ominous hallway leading to his lair." He glared at nothing in particular, since he couldn't see anything anyway, and muttered, "Typical. These miscreants are so uncreative." He stomped forward a few feet and collided with something, which gave out an indignant cry.

"COMMANDER." Meg's irritated voice cut through the darkness.

"Oh my…er… sorry!"

"Please _try_ to stop running into me!" A rummaging sound could be heard from her direction.

"Well I _would_ if I were able to _see_, Lieutenant." He shot back in an equally irritated voice, "And furthermore why are you always leading the way anyhow? I'm the highest ranking officer; I should be leading this mission!"

"Well, Commander," More rummaging could be heard, "If you would at least keep up then perhaps you would be leading." She suddenly gave a triumphant cry as Marvin tapped his foot impatiently,

"Now see here – _OH MY EYES_!" A bright light suddenly illuminated the narrow hallway, momentarily blinding all of them.

"Oh goodness," Meg clicked a dial on the side of the light, dimming the beam to a more manageable brightness, "Well, I suppose now we won't have any trouble seeing where we are going," She shot the Commander a glare, "And hopefully a certain _someone_ will stop colliding with me." Marvin rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision before turning to her,

"Lieutenant, I really don't appreciate your - " Lilly brushed past him, Miranda and Marshall following close behind.

"Forget it, Marv, she's already moved ahead!" Marvin stood alone for a moment, as realization set in. He fumed and stomped after the group, muttering,

"That – that_….Lieutenant_!"

--

"Meg, do you think we're there yet?"

"Do you see any doors, Miranda?"

"Um…no?"

"Then obviously we haven't reached our destination." Miranda sighed and trudged along behind her sister. Lilly walked along beside her, looking equally bored,

"Geeze, how many miles of tunnel are in this ship anyway?" She turned to the Commander, who plodded along steadily beside Meg, determined to stay in the lead – or at least try to.

"Hey Marvin?"

"Yes, Lilly."

"How much further?"

"I don't know, Lilly." Miranda watched the exchange, a glint of mischief suddenly brightening her face. She nudged Lilly, tilting her head towards her older sister.

"Meg?"

"What, Miranda?"

"Are we there yet?"

"Miranda, what did I just tell you a few minutes ago?"

"So…we're not there yet?"

"No!"

Miranda bit back a grin and looked back at Lilly, who winked back and turned to Marvin.

"Marv?"

"What now, Lilly?"

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"NO."

"When will we get there?"

"I don't know, Lilly!" Lilly hid a chuckle and rolled her eyes at Miranda, who piped up again,

"Meg?" Meg refrained from smacking her forehead with her hand and answered in a level voice,

"Yes, Miranda."

"Please tell me we made it."

"Believe me, Miranda, once we get there you'll know."

"You mean we're not there, yet?"

"That's what I mean." By now Meg's patience was wearing thin and she had the unconscious, irksome feeling that Miranda was playing tricks with her. Miranda and Lilly exchanged gleeful glances and launched into a tirade simultaneously,

"Marv, we've got to be there by now!"

"Well we're not, so tough luck."

"Meg, why is this taking so long?"

"Miranda, if you spent as much time walking as you did whining, we'd probably be there by now."

"Marvin, what's taking so long?"

"Lilly, we're going as fast as Martianly possible."

The two pestered on and on until finally both Marvin and Meg whirled around, shouting at the same time,

"_WE GET THERE, WHEN WE GET THERE_!" Both jerked to a stop and exchanged surprised glances. Miranda and Lilly stifled their laughter unsuccessfully, earning them steely glares from the two older Martians.

"Could you two, please, _try_ to control your mischievous streaks until after we've escaped safely?" Marvin asked wearily. Miranda snapped a sloppy salute, trying her best to look serious,

"Yes, sir!" Meg watched her and chuckled.

"If you're going to try and act the part," She tapped her sister's arm and shoulders with the flashlight, correcting her posture, "You had better learn a proper salute." The three female Martians laughed, lightening the mood, while Marvin strode gloomily ahead, out of the range of Meg's light,

"I still don't understand why you all are acting so flippant about our current situation." His sarcastic voice floated back to them, "Have you forgotten that we are still, for all intents and purposes, prisoners on thi-" A loud metallic CLANG echoed throughout the passageway, followed by a dull thud.

"Marvin!" Lilly rushed into the darkness, while Meg came closely behind, illuminating their path. Lilly turned a corner sharply,

"Marvin! Are you…uh…" She screeched to a halt when she saw him, standing upright and careening around the small space, tugging at the visor of his helmet, which had clamped shut over his face, "…ok?"

He gave an angered, though muffled reply.

"What?"

Another, louder reply.

"I still can't understand a word you're saying, Marv. Here, let me give you a hand." She braced herself and pulled on the visor with all her might. After a few pulls, the visor came up with such force that both Marvin and Lilly were propelled backwards, in opposite directions. Another CLANG reverberated throughout the passage as Marvin crashed into something behind him - again. Meg turned the corner just at that moment, scanning the area in front of her with her flashlight. Once she caught sight of Marvin she rolled her eyes,

"Commander, you _really_ need to learn how to avoid running into things. Such as walls." She shone her flashlight around as Miranda and Marshall peeked around the corner.

"I think we made it to the end!" Miranda piped up, pointing to the wall Marvin had previously crashed into. Lilly, brushing herself off from her tumble, squinted up at the wall.

"Hey, I think she's right! Check it out," She leaned close to the wall, tracing the barely visible crack of a doorway with her finger, "Looks like this is our ticket out of here." She gave the door a push, though the door remained firmly closed. Marvin moved beside her, braced himself and pushed with all his might. Meg and Marshall joined them, all four of them pushing as hard as they could – even so the door refused to budge. Miranda, hands stuffed into her pockets, surveyed the wall above their heads, rocking back and forth on her heels. Suddenly she stopped and squinted, trying to read something.

"Um…Meg?"

"…Miranda, I'm rather busy right now."

"I know, but Meg-"

"Miranda, if you insist on talking, why don't you come over here and push _while_ you talk?"

"But that's the thing." She pointed up, "It says 'PULL'." All four Martians froze and looked up to where she was pointing. Sure enough, in large bold letters was the word 'PULL'. Marvin stepped back and noticed a large indent in the door. Tentatively he stuck his hand in and pulled. The door swung open smoothly, without any exertion at all. Miranda watched smugly, looking pleased with herself. Meg glanced at her younger sister,

"Very nice job. I suppose this means I should start trusting you more."

"Does that mean I get to fly your hoverca-"

"Don't push it."

Marvin glared impatiently at Meg,

"Can we please get a move on?" He slipped through the door, while the rest of the crew followed close behind him. The doorway led into what looked like the command deck of the large vessel. Various computer screens glowed with activity and a large command seat faced away from them

"Now we shall find our culprit-" Marvin began softly, but was quickly shushed by Meg, who heard muttering coming from the seat. Sure enough a voice could be heard muttering angrily,

"Where did they go?"

Marvin gave a quick nod to Meg and both Martians crept up softly behind the chair. Marvin paused a second, listening carefully. _Wait a second, this isn't the voice we heard before…but why does it sound so familiar?_ Meg reached the seat first and, pushing with all her might, she spun the seat around until its occupant faced them, calling out in a sing-song voice,

"_Surprise_!" She blinked a few times once she saw who sat in the large seat, "Hmm, actually I am rather surprised." Marvin, who had been thinking quickly, already produced a blaster and shot a thick rope around their enemy, tying him securely to his seat.

"And _that_," Marvin spat out triumphantly, "is what you get for trying to hold _me_ captive in your ship…Woe!" Lilly, looking completely unsurprised, leaned casually against a control panel,

"I knew it was him all along." Miranda, standing next to her, cocked her head sideways,

"So, it was really him all this time? But what about the fake messages that we thought actually were real messages, but they weren't because they were fake, that said that he escaped from prison, does that mean the messages we thought were fake were actually real and the ones that we thought were fake were really real?" Woe looked back at her blankly,

"Um…yes?" Before he could say anymore, Marvin cut him off,

"Enough nonsense, Woe, what was this all about?" Woe glared back at the Martian Commander, equally enraged,

"Well had my plan been successful both you and the pesky Lieutenant over there would have been out of my way forever." Meg, who had punched in and sent out an S.O.S to the rest of the Martian Fleet, whirled away from the computer and stomped over to the scientist.

"Unfortunately, Doctor, your plan _failed_ so I suppose that means that you _will_ have to deal with me." She glowered at him, "And let me assure you, I am not happy with the situation at all." Woe, visibly shaken, tried to shrink back as far into the seat as possible,

"Er…um…what exactly is the issue…?"

"The _issue_?" Meg looked at him in angered disbelief. Miranda cringed,

"Uh oh…"

"The _ISSUE_ is that _YOU DEMOLISHED MY SHIP_!" Marvin, sensing what was coming, inched towards Lilly, Miranda and Marshall.

"Well…I…uh…I think she has everything…under -" _CRASH_ "- control…so I think we should all wait for the Fleet –" _CLANG_ " – up on the top deck."


	11. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

"Dr. Woe you are under arrest, again, for unlawful inquest of two Martian officials with intent to harm…again." The robot centurion turned to two others hovering nearby, "Take him away once he has completed the Lieutenant's order." The two other centurions saluted and returned to their charge.

"Alright, Doctor, let's keep it moving! We don't have all day." Woe looked up from his work, pulled up the visor of his spacesuit, an exasperated look on his face,

"I am going as fast as I can! What does that Lieutenant expect, a miracle?!"

"Well, I guess you should have thought of that _before_ you blew up her vessel." One centurion replied unsympathetically, "Now get back to work."

"I would be able to work faster without all these restraints…" Woe muttered, turning back to work on the shattered bulkhead of Meg's vessel; trying to move swiftly with bonds on each wrist, on each ankle, all connected to a thick band around his waist. Around him worked his Insectrons, each equally restrained to prevent them from escaping.

Miranda watched from a roomy space pod that hovered above Meg's ship, her cheek pressed against the window. She turned to her sister, who was lounging in a comfortable recliner, arms folded behind her head, dozing.

"Looks like he's doing a pretty good job repairing it."

"Oh, he better be," Meg opened one eye and glared out the window, "Or else he'll have more than a jail sentence to worry about." She settled back and drifted off into a light sleep that was broken by a loud beeping, coming from the control panel. She sighed and stood up, stretched then flipped on the view screen. A now-familiar Martian face appeared on the screen,

"Hi, Meg! How're the repairs coming?"

"Hello Lilly. The repairs are going perfectly, thank you."

"Good. Well, I'm just calling to say Marv and I are heading back to Mars."

"Mars? But isn't the Commander's ship damaged?"

"Yeah, but we're going to take a taxi and we'll pull the ship along behind us. Marvin would rather have professionals fix his ship, not his worst enemy."

"I see. I suppose that makes sense." Meg paused as Miranda joined her then continued, "Lilly, will you be traveling with the Commander from now on?"

"Yep, well…at least for as long as he can handle it!" From behind her came the faint voice of Marvin,

"I heard that, Lilly." Lilly rolled her eyes. Meg chuckled and said,

"Then I think we will be seeing more of each other in the future, since the Commander and I do work in the same department." Lilly grinned,

"Sounds good to me!" She looked at Miranda, "Looks like we'll be having more adventures then!"

Marvin suddenly appeared on the screen, a frown on his face,

"Yes, but _hopefully_ we'll be adventure-less for a while." He sighed, "I don't know about anyone else, but I think I am all adventured out." Another beep from the control panel sounded and the view screen split in two; Marvin and Lilly on the right and on the left –

"Hey there, Short-cake! "

Dodgers. Meg crossed her arms, lifting an eyebrow,

"I was in the middle of a conversation, Earth-Duck."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bet it wasthn't that important anyway. Now listhen, I need sthome-"

"Hi Dodgers!" Lilly called. Dodgers froze, eyes wide.

"Who sthaid that?!"

"Over here, Dodgers." Dodgers flailed around wildly, looking behind him.

"No, over _here_ Dodgers." Dodgers looked straight at Meg, then made a sharp turn to his left. Lilly waved, while Marvin looked thoroughly annoyed.

"Oh, it'sth you! Hey, I remember you!"He peered closer at them, "What're doing on my sthcreen?"

"I was talking to them, Earth-Duck." Meg said, inspecting her nails, "Now if you do not have anything important to say, then kindly sign off."

"Sheesh, tough crowd. Ok, ok, I'll make it quick. Old I.Q back at H.Q sthent me out to grab you." Meg eyed him suspiciously,

"What for?"

"Nooooope. Nuh-uh, sthorry, Thumbelina, can't tell ya until we get back into Earth territory." He narrowed his eyes then said in a loud whisper, "Top sthecret sthtuff."

"I see." She thought for a moment then nodded, "Alright, I will come. Although I need a ship, since mine is currently under reconstruction."

"Sthure thing, I'm in your vicinity now, justht need to-whoopths! - " Dodger's side of the screen suddenly filled with static, jumbled around and shook wildly before returning to normal. Dodgers looked around a few times before turning slowly back to the screen.

"Uuum…your sthip wouldn't happen to be connected to an Inter-Stellar Taxi…would it?"

"Taxi?!" Marvin suddenly whirled around, looking out the window behind him and Lilly, "_DODGERS_!"

Lilly and Miranda laughed as Dodgers and Marvin shouted at each other over Meg's view screen. Meg, elbows leaning on the control panel, shook her head slightly and said dryly,

"Here we go again…"

**The End**

**Thanks for reading, guys, and hope you enjoyed the story :) Thanks again to Nightmarebeforechristmasfreak for letting me use Lilly in the story as well!**


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